The Phillies have catching depth and everyone is incredibly thankful for it. Sebastian Valle is in Triple-A Lehigh Valley and the center of the Hunter Pence trade, catcher Tommy Joseph, is in Double-A Reading. The Phillies found a gem of a backup in Erik Kratz last season and he will likely start the season as the team’s starting catcher due to All-Star Carlos Ruiz’s 25-game suspension. They will be without one of their other catchers as well.Lehigh Valley native Brian Schneider , who spent the last three years with the Phillies, is retiring from Major League Baseball according to Mandy Housenick of the Lehigh Valley Morning Call. Housenick writes,“And now, three years after he became a Phillie and 18 years after he skipped his high school graduation to report to the Gulf Coast League Expos, which kicked off his journey through professional baseball, Schneider told me Tuesday that he is retiring.‘It hasn’t been an easy decision, but there are a lot of factors,’ Schneider told me. ‘You don’t want to retire, but you think of your family and I think more than anything it’s physically how you feel.’” The 36 year old Schneider hit .225 and two homeruns with seven RBI in 89 at-bats last season. He spent much of the year on the disabled list battling various injuries. In his career, Schneider hit .247 with 67 homeruns and 387 RBI.-Steve DolanFollow Steve on Twitter @SDolan3Follow Whiz Wit on Twitter @WhizWitSports